This invention relates to gun cleaning and safety devices for pistols, rifles, or shotguns, and in particular for cleaning gun barrels from the breech of the gun to the nozzle of the barrel, and securing a gun visibly at the breech area of the gun.
The barrel of a firearm, whether a hand gun, rifle, or shotgun, must be kept as clean as possible to ensure safe firing of the device and to facilitate accuracy of the round as it travels through the barrel to be discharged. The explosion of the charge to propel the round deposits residue on the interior of the barrel proximate the trigger, breech, and ejection port assembly which, if permitted to remain, can deteriorate and impair the ability of the firearm to function safely and accurately. The action and assemblies of automatic and semi-automatic firearms are particularly vulnerable to foreign matter which can cause jamming and misfires.
This invention also addresses the problem of securing a firearm against accidental discharge, particularly in the case of a firearm that may be kept in a private home with children having potential access to the firearm.
Numerous devices for cleaning and securing firearms have been proposed, as is evident from the following examples. Malesky, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,544,847, discloses a flexible rifle and shotgun cleaner shaft. In this device a flexible shaft 5 has a brush 15 swivelly connected at one end and a slotted link adapter 20 swivelly connected at its other end. The device can be used for breech to nozzle rifle cleaning operations so as not to contaminate the mechanism of the firearm or the cartridge chamber. Schultra in U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,820 discloses a gun cleaner and protecting device. The device consists of a sock or sleeve 10 two inches or more longer than the rifle barrel in which it is to be used. The device may be used to clean a firearm barrel from breech to nozzle, and then is left in the barrel so as to prevent accidental discharge of the weapon. Ingalls, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,957, discloses a flexible steel cable 16 having an enlarged head 21 at one end and means for securing a padlock 26 at the nozzle end of a firearm so as to prevent accidental use of the gun. Di Prospero, in U.S. Pat. No. 3, 813, 802 discloses a gun cleaning kit and safety device in which a cleaning rod 13 extends from the breech of a gun to the nozzle, being secured to the barrel by a sleeve 10 slidably attached to the gun sight 17. Badoni, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,447 teaches a safety device 10 for insertion into the receiver cavity of a semi-automatic firearm while at the same time preventing dirt and debris from contaminating the breech area of a gun during cleaning procedures.
While the above described devices provide useful tools for gun cleaning and safety techniques, they do not envision the precise, rapid, and economical operation of the device and method of the present invention.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a gun barrel cleaner for rapid and efficient cleaning of pistols, rifles, and shotguns.
An additional object of the invention is to provide for rapid and efficient cleaning of a gun barrel from the breech area of the gun to the nozzle of the gun without danger of contamination of the breech area of the gun.
A further object is to provide for quick connection and disconnection of various gun cleaning articles to the gun cleaning rod of the invention.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a uniquely economical and rapid quick connect-disconnect mechanism on the gun cleaning rod and gun cleaning articles for attachment to the gun cleaning rod.
A further object of the invention is to provide a combination "breech to nozzle" gun barrel cleaner and safety device for the firearm.